USA > Pennsylvania > Cumberland County > Biographical annals of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens and of many of the early settled families > Part 70
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GEORGE FRANKLIN WALTERS, senior member of the firm of G. F. Walters & Son, dealers in hardware, stoves and tin- ware and house furnishing goods, Shippens- burg, is a native of Pennsylvania, born on the Walters' homestead, four miles east of Ship- pensburg, June 11, 1853, son of George and Susan ( Zeigler) Walters.
George Walters was born in Cumber- land county in 1817, son of John Walters, a native of Pennsylvania, and his wife, who was a member of the Clever family. He be- came a surveyor and teacher, and so con- tinued for a period of forty years, or the greater portion of his business life. He married Susan Zeigler, who was born in Cumberland county Feb. 18, 1818, daughter of Michael and Susan ( Miller) Zeigler. They were the parents of six sons and one daughter, of whom four children lived to maturity ; Edgar, deceased; William Wal- ters, who resides in the west; Mary Belle, at home; George F .; John H., a Methodist minister at Lima, Ind .; Samuel M., who died in 1879; and Charles, deceased. Both Mr. Walters and his wife were consistent
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members of the Methodist Church. He died Dec. 24. 1896, and she passed away March 21. 1891.
George F. Walters received the advan- tages offered by a common school education at the Pine school house. When he was six- teen, he left school, and was apprenticed with Edgar A. Walters to learn the tinner's trade. In 1878. he embarked in the tinning business for himself at North Manchester, Ind., and there remained two years, when he moved to Shippensburg. and in 1880 formed a partnership with his brother Edgar A., in a hardware and stove business. the firm thus continuing until 1901, when Mr. Walters purchased the interests of his brother, and took his son Blaine E. as his partner, chang- ing the style to G. F. Walters & Son. They carry a full line of hardware. stoves and tin- ware. The store which the firm owns was originally 20 x 125 feet, to which another 40 feet have been added. Mr. Walters has had a long experience in this line of business, and he has an extensive acquaintance with the trade. Through his energy and pleas- ant, courteous manner. he has built up a large and flourishing business, and is one of the prosperous men of the city.
In 1876, Mr. Walters married Miss Emmza A. Rock, daughter of Daniel Rock. and she was born in Franklin county, and died in 1893. leaving three sons and two daughters : Blaine E .: Arthur W., manager of a branch store in Shippensburg, which is called the "Annex:" Brady R., a salesman ; Mary G., who married Edgar Warren. of Heidelburg, Pa .; and Bertha D., who mar- ried Bruce Hargleroad.
Fraternally, Mr. Walters is a member of the I. O. O. F., also of the Encampment, and has passed all the chairs. He is also a mem- ber of Golden Eagle lodge. In politics, he is a Republican. Mr. Walters is a member
of the Methodist Church, of which his wife was also a member, and he is one of its trus- tees, a liberal contributor to all its good work, and popular Sunday-school teacher and superintendent.
GEORGE A. FOGELSANGER. a sub- stantial farmer and successful dairyman of Southampton township, Cumberland county, and salesman for the McCormick & Hammond Machine Company, of Chicago, was born Aug. 26. 1861, in Southampton township. the second son of Rev. John R. and Elvilah ( Reigle) Fogelsanger.
Rev. John R. Fogelsanger was born Aug. 8. 1825, on the old Fogelsanger home- stead, in Franklin county, where he lived until 1874. when he removed to Cumber- land county, and settled on a farm formerly owned by his uncle, Jacob Fogelsanger, in Hopewell township. His wife, Elvilah Reigle, was born Aug. 7. 1834, near Ship- pensburg, daughter of John Reigle, of Ger- man ancestry, and she died April 1. 1902. Rev. Fogelsanger and wife had the following children : Jacob C .; Emma, wife of William J. Main. of Shippensburg: George A .; Charles E., farmer on the old homestead; David R., clerk for the Geyser Manufactur- ing Company, of Waynesboro: Annie, wife of Elmer Mowery, proprietor of a book store at Shippensburg : Ella E., wife of John R. Pilgrim, of Southampton; and Clara J., at home.
George A. Fogelsanger was reared on the home farm, and attended the local schools until prepared for the Cumberland Valley State Normal School, where he prosecuted his studies for eighteen months. The suc- ceeding six months he spent at Juniata Col- lege at Huntingdon, Pa., and then returned to the home farm, where he remained until his marriage, when he settled on his present
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farm. which has been known for many years, as the old Jacob Fogelsanger farm. This consists of seventy acres, on which our sub- ject's father built the commodious barn in 1882. It is well improved with excellent buildings of all kinds, and is adapted to the carrying on of an extensive dairy. Mr. Fogelsanger has made a scientific study of this business. and understands all its prac- tical details. He is general manager and shipper at Shippensburg. for the firm of Alpha Davis, of Baltimore, Maryland.
On October 11, 1883, Mr. Fogelsanger married Miss Dessie Baker, of Cumberland county, a daughter of David R. and Eliza- beth (Christlieb) Baker, and they are the parents of six children : Raymond G., Daisy M .. Ella C .. Berna M., Nora Belle and Cora E. Both he and his wife are valued members of the German Baptist Church. Politically, Mr. Fogelsanger is a Republican, and has been very actively engaged in political mat- ters in this locality, his usefulness to his party being shown in his election for two years as a member of the Republican central committee, and he has also served as tax col- lector. For the past nine years he has been a member of the I. O. O. F., has passed all the chairs, is past grand master of the lodge in Pennsylvania, and was a delegate to the Grand Lodge of the State. He is one of the enterprising, intelligent men who are bound to push to the front both in business and politics, full of life and energy, a type of the best class of American citizen.
H. A. DICK, one of the most skillful embalmers and undertakers of Cumberland county, and an extensive furniture dealer of Mechanicsburg, Pa., was born July 2, 1849, in the city of York, York county, Pa., son of A. J. and Magdalena (Stambaugh) Dick,
and grandson of Samuel Dick, a cooper by trade.
Samuel Dick was born in Maryland, and came of an old Scotch-Irish family. By occupation he was a cooper.
A. J. Dick was born in York county, Pa. He learned the cooper's trade. and fol- lowed it in connection with farming. He married Magdalena Stambaugh, and they be- came the parents of fourteen children. name- ly: H. A .; William, deceased; Frank, of Cumberland county; Samuel, deceased ; Mary; Edward, of Kansas; Charles, of Perry county, Pa .; Annie, unmarried, of Kansas; Michael, of Kansas; Catherine, of Kansas City; and four who died young. About 1875 Mr. A. J. Dick and his wife moved to Kansas where both died. In poli- tics he was a Democrat, while in religious belief he was a Lutheran.
Until he was fourteen years of age Mr. H. A. Dick remained with his parents in York county, and he then worked for farmers for several years, after which he came to Cumberland county and located on a farmi near Mechanicsburg. A few months later, however, he returned to York county, where he learned the trade of a wagonmaker. Once more he settled in Cumberland county, this time at Wertzville, and he followed his trade for twenty-five years. During this time he learned embalming and undertaking, and in 1901 he moved to Mechanicsburg, where he established himself as an undertaker and fur- niture dealer at No. 44 West Main street.
On April 18, 1872, Mr. Dick married Miss Agnes Walters, a native of Cumber- land county, and a daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Walters, the former of whom also a native of Cumberland county, was a black- smith by trade. Mrs. Dick is a member of a family of six, the others being: Simon, of
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Cumberland county ; Mary, the wife of Jere- miah Bretz: John, a farmer of Cumberland county ; Joseph, and Agnes. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Dick: Andrew W. and Walter, twins, born Oct. 16, 1873: and Murray Luther, born Oct. 18, 1879, who is a clerk in the First National Bank of Mechanicsburg. Andrew W. and Walter both died Feb. 24. 1898, and were buried together. Walter was a teacher in the schools of Cumberland county, and An- drew, a graduate embalmer. Both were in- telligent and promising young men, leading devoted Christian lives. This mournful event was one which affected the entire com- munity, and called forth many tokens of warm sympathy and affection for the sor- rowing parents and brother.
In politics Mr. Dick is a stanch Democrat. and for six years was a wise and judicious school director. Mr. Dick is very active in the work of the Lutheran Church in which he has held prominent positions, and he is very active in the Sabbath school.
JACOB E. SHETTEL, an up-to-date farmer and progressive citizen as well as an honored veteran of the Civil war, comes of a family that emigrated from Ger- many about the time of the war of the Revo- lution, and settled in York county, Pennsyl- vania.
George Shettel, grandfather of Jacob E., was born in York county in the latter part of the eighteenth century. He was a farmer by occupation, and so far as is known lived to a ripe old age. When the war of 1812 broke out he shouldered his musket and entered the service of his country. His chil- dren were: Henry, who married a Miss Strominger, of York county, by whom he had seven children, and he died when about sixty years of age; George; Philip, who
married a Miss Wickersham, had two chil- dren, and died at his home in Lewisberry, aged about forty; Elizabeth, who married Hiram Kirk, a general merchant at Lewis- berry, York county (now deceased), and died at the age of sixty, leaving three chil- dren: Catherine, who married John B. Drawbaugh (now deceased). and died at an advanced age, leaving three surviving children ; and John, who was engaged in the manufacture of window springs for over forty years, and died at the age of seventy years.
George Shettel, Jr., son of George and father of Jacob E., was a wagonmaker by trade, and died in 1891, at the age of seven- ty-nine years. He married Maria Eppley, of Cumberland county. Their children were: William, a farmer, who died in Cum- berland county at the age of thirty-two; George, a farmer in York county; Catherine C., who married Robert Shettle, of Silver Springs ; John D., who is engaged in farm- ing and trucking in York county; Levi M., a farmer in Fairview, Perry county, Iowa; and Jacob E.
Jacob E. Shettel was born Sept. 14, 1837, in Lower Allen township, near Eberly's Mills, the local name of the place being Milltown. He attended school at Good Hope, Monroe township, and at the age of eighteen went to work for his father, who at that time was working the Merkle farm in Lower Allen township. On Oct. 14, 1862, he enlisted at Harrisburg, as a musician, in the 3d Heavy Artillery, and was assigned to Company C, Capt. Bowen commanding. The regiment saw much active service dur- ing the war, particularly in North and South Carolina. For some time it was stationed at Fortress Monroe, and at the battle of Get- tysburg, it suffered severely, and also at the battle of Antietam. In the siege of Peters-
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burg. out of 900 men who entered the battle. but 200 answered "here" to the roll call afterward. During its three years' of hard service the regiment lost over 1,000 men in killed. wounded and from disease. In 1865. at the close of the war. Mr. Shettel was hon- orably discharged.
Returning home to the pursuits of peace. Mr. Shettel resumed farming, and in ISSS he bought the farm and homestead on which he now resides. This farm consists of ninety- one acres, and is in a high state of cultiva- tion, its owner being looked upon as one of the foremost farmers in Cumberland county. He is highly esteemed by all who know him. and he is ever ready to do a good citizen's part. He was one of the first to introduce steam threshing in Cumberland county, be- ginning in 1870, and continuing to operate a steam thresher until 1897, when he changed and now uses gasoline. In all these years he has threshed about two million bushels of grain.
In 1870 Mr. Shettel was united in mar- riage with Miss Ellen J. Grissinger, daugh- ter of John S. Grissinger, of York county. Four children have come to brighten their happy home: Pearl O., who married Israel C. Wertz, a farmer in Hampden township. and has five children ; Daisy V., who married William H. Cocklin, a mail carrier in Har- risburg, and has two children; Roy G., at home: and Mearl J., also at home. Mr. and Mrs. Shettel have many friends, and are looked upon as prominent among the sub- stantial people of the county.
John S. Grissinger, father of Mrs. Shet- tel, moved from York to Cumberland coun- ty, and engaged in farming. He died in Upper Allen township at the age of forty- nine years, leaving, besides Mrs. Shettel, the following children : Jacob 11., now deceased, who married Anna Nelson, and had three
children, of whom the widow and two of the children live in Minnesota, and the other, Homer N., is a machinist and lives in Phil- adelphia ; Catherine, who married Eli Yost, and has five children living; Theodore H., who married Sybilla Yost, and died leaving a widow and seven children, of whom one son, Elwood, is an electrical engineer at Buf- falo. N. Y .: Edna, Stanley and George, all at home on the old homestead in York, Pa .: Rebecca J., who died unmarried; Ida V .. who married ( first ) Robert Nelson, who died leaving her with two children, and she married (second) a Mr. Biglow, by whom she also has two children.
PETER D. GOTTSHALL, who is at present engaged at the pumping station of the Philadelphia & Reading Railway Com- pany at Boiling Springs, Cumberland coun- ty. is a native of that county, and was born in 1852, at Springville, in South Middleton township.
Peter Gottshall, father of our subject, was born in South Middleton township in 1814, and the family has long been associ- ated with the development of this section of the county. Until he was eighteen years of age Peter Gottshall alternated attendance at the local schools with work on the farm, and then began to learn the carpenter's trade at Boiling Springs with his father, Jacob. On the completion of his apprenticeship he engaged in business in that line with his brother Adam at Boiling Springs, and they did a flourishing business as buiklers and contractors for forty years, Peter Gottshall retiring eventually on account of poor healthi. He died in 1886, aged seventy-two years, at Springville. Mr. Gottshall married Eliza- Leth Gross, and they had children as follows : George, Jacob M., Henry, John, Daniel, Willis, Peter D., Mary and Alfred. The
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mother of these dying. Mr. Gottshall mar- ried Rebecca Shupp, and they had two chil- dren. Annie and one that died in infancy.
Peter D. Gottshall received a good prac- tical education in the common schools, at- tending until he was eighteen years old. Af- ter leaving school he worked on the farm for his father for about ten years, and then learned the carpenter's trade, serving his ap- prenticeship at Boiling Springs with his fa- ther. He was in business with his father un- til the latter's death, after which he was in partnership with his brother Henry for six years. He then took a position as boss car- penter with the Philadelphia & Reading Rail- way Company, having his headquarters at Boiling Springs, and was thus engaged for about seven years, until incapacitated by an accident. His adz slipped, cutting his leg so severely that he was under the doctor's care for two years. Mr. Gottshall is still in the employ of the Philadelphia & Reading Company, having for the past four years been engaged at the pumping station at Boiling Springs. He has been one of the most respected citizens of that place for many years.
On Jan. 1, 1874. Mr. Gottshall married Miss Matilda C. Wise, daughter of Fred- erick and Maria Wise. of South Middle- ton township, and they have had one child, Franklin E., who was born in 1874. attended the schools of South Middleton township, and is now engaged in the photographing business at Harrisburg, though he continues to live in Boiling Springs, making the trip morning and evening, He married Minnie A. Lehman, daughter of David P. and Eliza- beth M. Lehman, of South Middleton town- ship. Mr. and Mrs. Gottshall are both mem- bers of the Lutheran Church of Boiling Springs. In his political affiliations he is a Democrat.
FREDERICK J. WISE, father of Mrs. Gott- shall, was born in South Middleton town- ship, Oct. 12, 1814, and received his educa- tion in the common schools of his native township. He chose farming as his life work, and, aside from six years spent in Carlisle, he had always devoted his life to that calling. He married Maria E.Lobaugh, a daughter of Joseph Lobaugh, a native of Adams county, in 1844. Of the children born of this union, four lived to maturity, as follows : Joseph, deceased ; Jane ; Matilda C .: and Edward. Those that died in in- fancy were : John, Harry, Elizabeth. Annie, Abbie, Frank and Ella. The family were Lutherans in religious faith. Frederick J. Wise died in August, 1890, and his wife died in January, 1891, aged sixty-seven years.
HIRAM H. HIGHLANDS. One of the familiar names of Southampton town- ship, Cumberland county, is that of High- lands, those bearing it being of a good sub- stantial class of citizens, of which any com- munity might well be proud. In the pres- ent generation Hiram H. Highlands, farmer and formerly a railroad contractor, is worth- ily bearing the name. He was born in Southampton township Nov. 12, 1849. son of William and Maria (Clever ) Highlands. and grandson of James Highlands.
3 James Highlands was a native of Ireland of Scotch-Irish parentage. He married a Miss Peoples, also of Scotch-Irish parentage. They came to America and located in Penn- sylvania, where they reared a large family."
William Highlands was a native of Cum- berland county, born in 1818. After his . marriage he located on the John Hunter farm on the Bottom road, in the vicinity of Leesburg-a farm containing 115 acres of rich, fertile land. There he made his home until his death in July, 1867. He was an
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ardent supporter of Democratic principles .. Socially. he belonged to the I. O. O. F. His wife, Maria Clever, was born in Southamp- ton in 1830, daughter of George and Eliza- beth ( Hippensteel) Clever, and she now makes her home in her native town. The Hippensteels were of German origin. and were among the earliest settlers in South- ampton township. To William and Maria ( Clever) Highlands were born children as follows: Hiram H .: Amelia J., wife of Jacob Mower. of Indiana : Miss Elizabeth, living with her mother in Shippensburg; Margaret, wife of William Baker, of Hope- well township; Sallie, who married Weir Hale, and lives in Franklin county; Annie M., who married John Cochenhaur ; Abbie, married to Charles B. Baker; and Hulda, who married William Earley, of Franklin county.
Hiram H. Highlands was permitted to attend the village school in Leesburg urtil his sixteenth year, when he began to assume a large portion of the work on the home farm. He remained at home until he at- tained his majority, at which time he lo- cated in Leesburg and began to farm and handle grain on his own account, so con- tinuing from 1883 to 1895. During this time he began interested in railroad con- tracting. in grading and construction work. on the Reading & Pennsylvania system, and also on the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburg in the construction work. He met with considerable success in this line, and branch- ing out accepted contracts that took him into the neighboring States of Virginia and New Jersey. He employed at times quite a large force of men. When his father died, he bought out the interests of the other heirs in the home place, which contains sixty-four acres, and this has been his home since his marriage. It is improved with good build-
ings, and the house has been altered to suit the times, making it a most comfortable dwelling.
In 1873 Mr. Highlands was married to Miss Cora Foreman, of Southampton town- ship, daughter of Jacob W. and Anna (Bughman) Foreman. She was born in 1851, and died in March, 1900, the mother of eleven children, eight of whom lived to mature years: George W., a railroad con- tractor ; Milton A., assistant in the mechani- cal department of the Pennsylvania Rubber Company, at Jeannette, Pa. : Joseph R. E .. a railroad contractor in construction work in Virginia; Jacob F., assisting his father ; Blanche, at home; and Cora May, Maria and Catherine, also at home. In politics Mr. Highlands votes the Republican ticket, and while he takes an intelligent interest in pub- lic affairs, he has never taken an active part in party work, and cares nothing for the honors of official position. His religious connection is with the Evangelical Church.
EDWARD J. WISE, who resides in Monroe township, Cumberland county, comes of a family which has long been lo- cated in Pennsylvania, and which is of Ger- man origin.
Frederick Wise, the grandfather of Ed- ward J., settled in Lancaster county, Pa., and there followed farming. In 1800 he came to Cumberland county, buying and set- tling upon a fine farm in South Middleton township where he engaged in farming and passed the remainder of his days. His chil- dren were as follows: Jacob died in Spring- ville, Cumberland county ; Margaret Annie died in Carlisle; Frederick is mentioned be- low; Eliza died in Springville; Susan died in Carlisle; Henry died in Shippensburg.
Frederick Wise, father of Edward J., was born in South Middleton township, and
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received a common-school education. He worked with his father, at farming, until his marriage, in 1844, to Maria Lowbough. daughter of Samuel Lowbough, of York Springs, Adams Co., Pa., after which he continued to live on the homestead for an- other five years. Thence he moved to Boil- ing Springs, where he was engaged for three years at trucking and hauling, and during the next three years he was in the draying busi- ness at Carlisle. However, he went back to farming, buying a fine farm of ninety- two acres along the Oxford road, upon which he lived for thirty-two years, carrying on its cultivation very successfully. In 1883 he sold that place and bought a neat little home on the turnpike, where he lived retired until his death, in 1890. Mrs. Wise also died there, in 1891. Twelve children were born to this worthy couple: ( 1) John died in infancy; (2) Joseph T. died at Mt. Holly Springs when forty-seven years old; (3) Jane is the wife of John Spidle, and lives at Barnitz: (4) Matilda is the wife of Peter Gottshall, a resident of Boiling Springs; (5) Frank, (6) Abner, (7) Annie, (8) Margaret and (9) Willie all died young; (10) Edward J. is the sub- ject proper of these lines ; and ( II ) Ella and (12) Lizzie are both deceased.
Edward J. Wise was born in 1862, in South Middleton township, on the family homestead along the Oxford road, and there attended the public schools, receiving a good practical education. He remained on the home farm, assisting his father with the agri- cultural work, until his marriage, in 1881. to Miss Barbara Smith, daughter of William O. and Lealı (Stambaugh) Smith, of Cum- berland county, Pa. Mr. and Mrs. Wise first resided at Boiling Springs, where he was employed in the iron works for seven years, and when that establishment closed
down he entered the employ of the Phila- delphia & Reading Railway Company, con- tinuing thus for six years. For the next two years he was at the Reading ore mines in 1895 commencing the milling business, which he has ever since continued in the employ of Mr. Bacastow. His home is in Monroe township, near the mills. Mr. Wise has always been an industrious and thrifty man, being a representative member of one of the good old families of Cumberland county, and he is accordingly respected wherever he is known. He is an active mem- ber of the Methodist Church of Boiling Springs, in which congregation he has filled all the offices. In his political faith Mr. Wise is a Democrat. and though interested in the success of his party does not seek any personal favors. He served as inspector while a resident of South Middleton town- ship.
Mr. and Mrs. Wise have become the parents of eight children, viz : William ( who married Katie Wise and is living in Monroe township), Harry, Elsie, Joseph, Ralph, Car- rie, Elmer and Mildred, all but the eldest living at home.
JESSE ROBBINS, owner and proprie- tor of the Robbins green-houses, located on Ridge street, in Carlisle, is one of the much esteemed and prosperous business citizens of that place. His connection with com- mercial floriculture dates from Jan. 15, 1895, when his location was on West Louther street. at the old Campbell green- house. In June, 1896, he removed to his present most desirable location. Prior to this he purchased the property and erected his present commodious greenhouses, begin- ning with three structures, two of them be- ing 20x50 feet in dimensions and one 10x50 feet. Later he added another building
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